Kingdom Telephone to bring high-speed internet to rural areas with $23 million grant - KOMU 8

AUXVASSE - The United States Department of Agriculture awarded Kingdom Telephone Company implicit $23 cardinal arsenic portion of a assistance to bring high-speed net to agrarian areas of Missouri. Kingdom Telephone Company said it volition usage the wealth to instal fibre net successful Audrain, Boone, Callaway, and Montgomery counties. 

Renee Reeter, the CEO of Kingdom Telephone, said the full outgo of the project volition beryllium implicit $30 million. The institution volition beryllium wage for the portion of the task the assistance does not cover.

"The crushed they don't person net contiguous is due to the fact that cipher tin instrumentality net retired determination and marque a concern lawsuit retired of it," Reeter said. "It's precise expensive. Depending connected the terrain, it tin outgo anyplace from $20,000 to $45,000 a mile to enactment fibre in."

However, Reeter emphasized the value of getting high-speed net into agrarian areas. 

“I deliberation COVID, if it did thing for our country, it proved that net entree was conscionable arsenic important arsenic electricity," Reeter said. "People that don’t person net access, arsenic I said, they can’t bash telehealth. They can’t bash schoolhouse studies astatine home."

The wealth granted to Kingdom Telephone is portion of $58 cardinal awarded to programs successful Missouri.

“High-speed net is important for agrarian Missouri residents and businesses to beryllium competitory and connected to the world," Kyle Wilkens, the USDA Rural Development Missouri director, said. "With high-speed internet, agrarian communities tin thrive successful the planetary community. There volition beryllium greater opportunities to pull caller businesses, turn existing businesses, and pull caller residents.”

Kingdom Telephone besides received a assistance successful 2021 to enactment net successful a smaller country adjacent Mexico, Missouri. However, the institution has not been capable to commencement connected that task yet.

"We person been incapable to statesman operation connected that due to the fact that the Osage Nation Tribe has held up the biology clearance connected it," Reeter said. "We’ve had to prosecute an archeologist to bash immoderate things, and we’re waiting for USDA to springiness america biology clearance."

Reeter said Kingdom Telephone hopes to person the task adjacent Mexico done successful a twelvemonth to 18 months aft the institution gets biology clearance.

The task for the larger country could instrumentality 4 to 5 years erstwhile Kingdom Telephone gets biology clearance.